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battle-honours. Here The 32nd proved that sheer grit and resilience guided by model leadership is an unconventional, yet powerful asset which can often trump an enemy with numerical and material superiority. It was also an important mile- stone in regimental history, as Queen Victoria herself decreed that ‘in considera- tion of the enduring gallantry displayed, the 32nd is to be clothed, equipped, and trained as a light infantry regiment’. Private Metcalfe recalled the ceremony, describing how ‘for the defence of Lucknow my regiment was made light infan- try, and given a small brass ornament to wear in our caps’ (see Figure 3). This was, of course, a bugle, thus bringing the 32nd into what would become The Rifles’ ‘family tree’ of antecedent regiments. Therefore, all that the 32nd endured, and the lessons which can be drawn from their saga, should not be forgotten, for they embody the regimental spirit currently upheld in The Rifles.
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